Writers Begin Strike as Talks Go On

Source: New York Times

By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Published: November 5, 2007

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 — A strike by Hollywood writers began in New York just after midnight Monday, even as negotiators for screenwriters and producers continued talks toward a new contract under the eye of a federal mediator.

As of late Sunday night here, there was no sign of a breakthrough. And more than 12,000 screenwriters represented by the Writer Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East in the early morning hours in New York began the first industry-wide strike since writers walked out in 1988. That strike lasted five months and cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million.

A contract between the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — which represents networks, studios and other producers — expired Wednesday night after more than three months of acrimonious negotiations. Guild leaders called for a strike to begin Monday morning. A federal mediator, who joined the talks last week, asked the sides to continue talking in a Sunday session.

Throughout the weekend, guild leaders held orientation meetings for strike captains, who would supervise picketing teams, and otherwise prepared for an effort to shut down as much movie and television production as possible....The Writers Guild of America East said that beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, hundreds of its members would picket outside Rockefeller Center, with its cluster of major media companies in the neighborhood. And picketers here are expected to march outside more than a dozen studios and production sites in four-hour shifts, one beginning at 9 a.m., the other at 1 p.m.

The sides have been at odds over, among other things, writers’ demands for a large increase in pay for movies and television shows released on DVD, and for a bigger share of the revenue from such work delivered over the Internet.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/business/media/05strike.html?hp

are treated will all the respect paper towels enjoy. Support them if you can.

Or possibly "C-Span".

Or they could bring back that old show where the camera pans slowly from the barometer to the thermometer to the clock and back. Y'know, it used to be on on motel room tv all the time?

It might be fun if they started having the soaps be improvs.

The writers were both partisan and cruel. Very funny bit.

Maybe I should give it a try. :)

I usually only watch the opening and the news bit, but there were such high recommendations here that I watched the whole tape. It was actually watchable. The writers, I suppose, were having a last hurrah.

The producers are rich enough already.

I had no idea "The View" was even remotely scripted. Bunch of harpies yapping.

I don't know why Jon and Colbert and whoever can't just bring a bunch of guests on, or interview each other.

Hell, if Steve wanted to (not that'd I'd watch) he could read from his book every night.

:)

Pretty cool, huh.

If you lived through the first one, you'll remember what that was like.

of these blasted reality shows. Goddess forbid they squeeze a few more bucks out of the MILLIONS they make off these things to shoot some over to the writers. Noooo, we can't have that! :sarcasm:

I'm on the side of the writers, but if this is prolonged at least for TV dramas/comedy writers I think they may be writing their own unemployment slips. With the high cost of production of those types of programs it will give the networks another excuse for reality and game shows. May also signal the end of the daytime soap opera.

That was a clear casualty.

That strike made a mess of this town.

Yes, the writers deserve a better piece of the pie. Still, even though it was well known how far apart the parties were, they didn't get negotiations underway until July, and not so much in earnest even then.

By contrast, the Directors Guild is nowhere near as far apart from the Corporations on their issues and they're already negotiating even though their contract doesn't run out until June. The DGA handles this kind of thing much better.

1988 was also different in that the revenue formulae were pretty safe (although video cassette revenues were a new thing) whereas now the old model of commercial TV is quite a bit in question. The companies were nowhere near as big and diversified then, either, so labor had much more leverage.

Justified though their position is in many ways, this has been terribly handled and many people are at serious financial risk.

Not good.

AND NEVER RETURN

were considering joining the strike.

Or will she just ad-lib the news each night?

I'm in love with truck drivers today.